This invention relates to the art of overload protection circuits for amplifiers, and more particularly to a new and improved overload protection circuit operating at low power and providing little or no loading effect on the amplifier being protected.
One area of use of the present invention is providing overload protection for amplifiers employing destructible elements such as field effect transistors and integrated circuit components, although the principles of the present invention can be variously applied. An overload protection circuit functions to limit the amplifier to operating potentials which do not exceed the destruction potentials of the amplifier elements. Among the various factors to be considered in designing such a circuit are low power operation, negligible loading on the amplifier being protected, and simple construction.